Latest figures from the British Retail Consortium's (BRC's) monthly report carried out in conjunction with KPMG found a 0.4 per cent decline in like-for-like sales during May as activity levels fell back from Easter-induced highs in April.

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The decline for May compares to growth of 0.5 per cent in the same period a year earlier.

Online sales of non-food products slumped to the lowest levels since records began in 2012, up by 4.3 per cent last month.

That was against an increase of 13.7 per cent in May 2016.

But food sales reached their highest level in more than five years at 3.2 per cent for the three months to May. Sales of food and drink were bolstered by warm weather in the run-up to the May bank holiday, with double-digit growth in beer, wine and spirit sales.

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Paul Martin, head of UK retail at KPMG, said retailers had come “back down to earth with a thump”.

“The impact of inflationary pressures on the nation's purse continues to play out in this month's figures, with shoppers evidently spending more on food and drink than on non-food purchases,” he said.

“With inflation continuing to rise and wage growth stagnating, consumers are starting to feel the pinch – although the highly-competitive nature of the UK grocery market continues to play out in the consumer's favour. Many retailers, particularly fashion stores, will be poised and ready to make the most of the upcoming summer, so hopefully the weather will play fair.”

Inflation hit its highest level for nearly four years in April, coming in at 2.7 per cent according to official estimates.